»We are super annoying customers!« says 9-year-old Hailey Vind enthusiastically, pointing to the table in front of her.
Her classmates in 3.B are busy sorting small colored ’centicubes’ into different piles.
»We are actually Karens«, she laughs, explaining that »they are those really grumpy drama queens who bump into people and stuff like that«.
We are technically in a math class at Sorø Borgerskole, but in the children’s minds, we are somewhere else entirely: at the bakery.
Half of the class is acting as demanding customers, buying cookies in the form of the small centicubes from the other half, the bakers. The difficult customers must insist on having their cookies divided into a specific number of bags, thus learning division through role play.
»I really make a point of ensuring the lessons are as playful as possible«, explains their math and homeroom teacher, Kenneth Knudsen, about today’s exercise.
»When I tell the kids to be the worst customers in the world, it immediately becomes fun for them. They get into it, and I believe they remember it better. There’s learning in the play itself, and they also learn that division is simply about sharing equally. It’s not harder than that«.
»They make our lives better«
According to the students and parents, it’s precisely this kind of out-of-the-box and unconventional teaching that makes Kenneth Knudsen and his colleague, Danish teacher Line Nielsen, a dream team deserving of Politiken’s Teaching Award.
For instance, they have held a math class at the local Meny supermarket, walked 10 kilometers around Sorø Lake despite doubts about their ability to complete it, and learned how a seal stays warm by putting fat on their fingers and dipping them in water.
»Line and Kenneth are incredibly dedicated and innovative in their teaching, and they always keep our children in focus«, writes one parent in their nomination, while another adds:
»They are appreciative, inclusive, accommodating, helpful, and warm in a way I’ve never encountered before. They manage to uplift children who are struggling and create a community that gives all children a sense of being real and important«.
The students from 3.B agree.
»They are really, really nice to us. They don’t yell at us at all, except when I jump out of the window. I’ve done that several times today«, says 9-year-old Emilia Alicia Fossing, praising the teacher duo for their infectious energy.
»Kenneth and Line actually make our lives better. We’re not tired in class. When they bring the energy—smiling and happy—I just feel it, right in my heart,« she says, and her classmate, 9-year-old Asta Skadelund Rohde, chimes in:
»It really can’t get any better«.
A meaningful lesson
After math class, it’s Line Nielsen’s turn to teach Danish to 3.B, where the class discusses the municipal election because the town’s residents have come to the school to vote. One of the girls asks if you’re required to vote and whether it’s free to hold a protest. Their Danish teacher explains, in simple terms, why it’s a good idea to vote once you turn 18—and that no, you won’t go to jail if you don’t. And yes, that’s exactly how we avoid ending up with a dictator.
One boy has seen on Ultranyt that there are many violent demonstrations in France, and the class agrees that it’s silly to throw stones just because you have an opinion.
The conversation wasn’t planned, but Line Nielsen explains afterward that the lesson works much better if she addresses what’s on the children’s minds.
»If I just follow my agenda to the letter without addressing what the children bring up, they don’t feel significant. The lesson becomes much more meaningful if I meet them where they are, and they become much more receptive to learning afterward«, she explains.
»And it’s not irrelevant what they bring up. It helps create an equal starting point in the class because not all homes discuss, for example, the municipal election«.
A huge pat on the back
A few days later, when Line Nielsen and Kenneth Knudsen receive the news that they have won the main prize for elementary schools among the many hundreds nominated for Politiken’s Teaching Award, they are deeply overwhelmed.
»We are totally surprised! It’s been a crazy day. Suddenly the kids were there with flags and confetti cannons, and it was incredibly touching to see that they were just as excited as we were«, says Kenneth Knudsen.
The teacher duo agrees that being recognized for their work is a huge pat on the back. It especially means a lot that parents and students have highlighted their caring and playful approach.
»That’s exactly what Line and I want to stand for. We want community, and we want hands-on teaching, so it must mean that we are clear about it and that we have succeeded. I am incredibly proud and honored«, says Kenneth Knudsen. Line Nielsen adds:
»We’re incredibly grateful. This job can be tough—there are real highs and lows, and you sometimes think, »What’s the right call here?« But we have to make it work, and feeling that we’re on the right track is a real relief. It matters so much to us to bring out the best in every child, so they know they have a meaningful place in the community,« she says.
Kenneth Knudsen nods:
»You can have had the best lessons in the world, but if you then have a lousy recess with no one to play with, that’s the only thing that matters when you get home«, he says.
»Community means everything. That’s why we put so much effort into it«.
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